Popular! I wanna make you pop-u-lar!
Herakles wanted to slam his head into the table. This had to have been at least the twentieth time he had heard someone perform a song from Wicked for their audition piece. He recognized the quality of the musical itself, but the poor reenactments he was seeing made him want to ban the whole play.
Not to mention, what did "Popular" even have to do with "Dracula"? The Greek had thought that musical theatre instructors would have made this lesson one…when auditioning, first you don't want to perform a song from the musical they're doing unless specifically asked by the director. "Dracula" was an obscure enough play that he hadn't had any problems with that, but they were ignoring another part of the basic rule. When selecting a song for an audition, one must pick a song with a character similar to the one the actor is auditioning for. If you are singing for Maria in "West Side Story", don't come in singing "I Feel Pretty", but don't come in singing a pop song like "Spotlight" either. Would Maria sing that? Herakles didn't think so. You had to show off the best parts of your range that would tell that you were the best for the role. Herakles knew some directors that auditioning with anything short of a musical theatre song (so long as it wasn't an overdone one), would be an instant failure. Not to mention, the right outfit. Once again, if you're auditioning for Maria, that crop top with the denim shorts is ABSOLUTELY the WRONG decision.
And yet, it kept happening.
However, Herakles would sooner do the role himself than cast someone who believed that "Popular" was a song for Mina.
…
"Hello, my name is Alice Kirkland. I am here to audition for the role of Mina Murray."
Herakles lounged in his chair as he pulled at his collar a bit to loosen it. It was so tiresome how many people would come to audition for theatre, fancying themselves to have a natural talent for performance. It shouldn't be so hard to fill these roles, but he felt exhausted.
But the current pain in his side was the role of Mina. Arguably, she was the most important role in this production, aside from Dracula himself, that is. But oddly enough, he had already found someone that he looked at and saw the vampire looking back.
He glanced at the young woman's name before gesturing at her to begin the monologue he had requested for all Mina auditions to prepare. He knew that it wasn't exactly in practice for most theatre directors to have people prepare specific monologues, but at least these monologues were from the other Dracula musical instead of the one he was putting on.
This Alice was pretty good, Herakles admitted in his head, pretending that he was taking notes on her audition (in reality he was just drawing cats on the page). Maybe, just maybe, she was the Mina he was searching for.
He gave her a moment to breathe after her monologue before gesturing to Roderich to begin the audition piece. Haunting strains of music poured out the piano as Alice let her voice slowly swell into the song.
There's only so much, that a heart can take,
Before it starts to break…
Please don't make me love you,
Please don't make me need you.
I've no room in my life, for something like this…
Not bad, not bad at all. She had a rather mature voice, something he had been searching for all day. The problem was that the tinny pop singers seemed to be in vogue, and everyone's sound was bright pink as a result. But this Alice's voice was a deep purple, filling the room without much effort. That was something else he had noticed throughout the day; most of the girls had no volume whatsoever. He was sitting a mere few feet from the stage, but it felt as though he needed to make them wear a microphone for that much. He mentally snorted at the thought. It was sad how lazy people had grown with the invention of technology such as the microphone. It used to be that a single voice could fill an entire opera house, OVER the sound of the live orchestra performing. Now? It wouldn't even make it past the first row of musicians.
Not to mention, it was a good choice of piece. "Please Don't Make Me Love You" was obscure enough that he hadn't heard it a thousand and one times; not to mention, it was a Mina song from the other Dracula musical, and therefore appropriate for this production.
Mentally, he found himself nodding as she finished singing, bowed properly, thanked him for his attention before excusing herself. A lot of the people auditioning seemed to have horrible attitudes, the ones that could get you blackballed from show-biz back when his instructors had started performing. At least this one had a sense of manners.
He suddenly groaned as he held his head in his hands. What was wrong with him? He sounded so…old…
He needed a nap. But first things first, he had to finalize callbacks.
Stretching his arms towards the sky, he rose from his seat, leaning backwards slightly as he allowed his back to crack a little.
And then he was flung forward by a veritable hurricane from behind. He took in a breath, inhaling the smell of spices hat was so characteristic of her. At least Roderich had the decency not to laugh, instead quickly gathering his stuff to vacate the room.
Leaving the Greek behind…with her.
"Hey, brat! You're losing your touch, the last one didn't look to be on the edge of tears at all! Or maybe she just couldn't take your criticism seriously, coming from a pipsqueak like you!"
Cat-like eyes narrowed slightly at the comment. He'd reminded her of the fact that he was taller than the average guy a thousand times, but it never seemed to make any effect.
You see, she was taller than the average guy too. The girl swung around him to sit herself up on his desk, putting herself on his level…in a sense. Cat-green met almond brown as he stared into the eyes of the woman who had made his life crazy from the first time they met when they were children.
Meryem Adnan.
She could've easily been a model, with those long legs, that perfectly tanned skin, and angular face. In fact, Herakles was fairly certain that she had been scouted on many an occasion. Why she kept saying no, the Greek certainly didn't know. Despite being a few years younger than him, she'd managed to match him a boyfriend for every girl he dated. That was one thing they had in common, the only reason they were ever single was if they wanted to be.
Other than that…well, the best term for it would have to be that they were childhood rivals. Neither could remember how it started, though Herakles had his suspicions that it had to do with that Japanese kid that they were both obsessed with for a time.
He lazily looked up at Meryem's face as she crossed a long leg over the other. She was quite gorgeous. Why hadn't he ever asked her out?
"Hey, pipsqueak, you listening to me?"
Oh yes, that's why. How she had always managed to be the one to instigate breakups with that attitude, he'd never know, yet the guys she dated always begged for her to come back.
A heavy hand whacked him in the middle of the head, and he glared up at the offending figure.
"What…was that for?"
"For falling asleep while I'm talking to you!"
"I…was…not."
"A likely story!"
"My eyes…were open."
"Like that's stopped you before!" She leaned forward, winking at him, "C'mon. Let's blow this joint. You can tell me all about the auditions over dinner."
"I'm…not paying…for your meal."
"Who said I was asking!"
"New…boyfriend?"
A bright red flush crossed her face, "Shut your face!"
He chuckled a little as he shrugged on his jacket, flipping his keys into his hand.
"At least I have a job!" she yelled at him as she jogged a few paces after him, "Not all of us have an inheritance."
If it was anyone else, that comment would've garnered as waspish retort, but Herakles knew that she didn't intend it in the way it sounded. They had engaged enough arguments over the year to be able to tell when the words were meant to bite.
"If you had my inheritance…it wouldn't exist anymore. Besides…I'm working."
"Yeah," she snorted, "Let me know when you're a big time!"
Herakles frowned disapprovingly when he heard her cellphone ring, cutting off his retort before he could even try to make it.
She lit up the screen, and then frowned as well.
"Hey, Herc?"
That nickname always meant that she wanted something, ever since watching "Hercules" with her when they were younger.
"What?" he was wary.
"Could you give me a role?" when she noticed his face, she quickly rushed to clarify, "I don't mean something like Mina, of course, I just meant a small ensemble role or something like that!
"What was that…about you saying that you…have a job?" Herakles groaned while Meryem hung her head
"Well, I had one…the boss's missus just made him fire me," she lightly shook the phone at him.
"…what did you do…this time?"
"Nothing! I swear!" she held out her phone for him to see, "But it looks like the boss was some sort of sleazebag!"
Herakles spent a moment reading the sleazy message that he immediately wished he could unsee.
"That's…just wrong. You know…you could sue…for wrongful discharge…"
She snorted at that, "Seriously, Jerkules? After that message, I'm glad he fired me! He's twice my age!"
"What about…that guy…Fred?"
"That was when I was young and stupid," she stuck her regal nose up into the air.
"That…was last year."
She spun around, "Look, Herc, I just want something to do with my time while I'm looking for a new job. Besides, I've always wanted to try acting."
How, in Zeus's name, was a full grown woman of her size able to pull off the puppy-dog eyes so easily? Even he, a hardened cat person himself, could never really resist them.
"You'll have an ensemble role," he sighed, "No name, and we'll see about a solo after I hear you sing."
"You're the best!" she flung herself at him while Herakles found himself very grateful for all of muscle-building work he did. Otherwise, her idea of a "friendly hug" would've knocked him to the ground.
"Yeah…I know…Get off me."
She grinned at him as she pulled a pack of cigarettes from her jacket pocket, placing one between her lips, and grabbing her lighter…
Only to give a cry of dismay as it was plucked from her full lips and ground beneath Herakles's heel.
"Hey!" she cried, "That was my cigarette for the week!"
"You really should…stop smoking…completely…"
She rolled her eyes, "What, are you my mum now, Jerkules?"
"You are not allowed on my set if you keep smoking. I won't have you smelling up the place," he held out a hand, waiting for her to surrender the smokes.
Grumpily, she pouted, but did as she was told, "It's not like I use a pack a day. This stuff is way too expensive for that."
"The point, Mer, is to not smoke at all."
She purposefully tossed her long hair into his face, its smell made him think of tulips and baklava, a sweet that they actually both agreed on liking.
…
"Why didn't you two jerks take me to the audition?"
Alice rolled her eyes, "For the last time, Peter, this wasn't a production for kids."
"I'm not a kid! I'm an actor, just like you and Scott!"
"What about me?" Alastair asked as he entered the kitchen to sit down at the bar-styled table on the other end of the stove. He tugged one of his step-sister's pigtails as he passed her, earning himself a light slap on his hand, but it was worth it.
"You should've taken me! I can act!"
"Sorry, kid, gotta agree with the wet blanket on this one."
"I'm not a wet blanket," the young lady spoke haughtily.
"Alright, lads and lass, stop it with the arguing," their mother sighed as she carried dinner over to the dining table, "I didn't ask for a family dinner to listen to this."
"I wanted to go audition!" Peter pouted, jumping down from his stool, "I'm gonna be an actor!"
"No, you're not," Elizabeth Kirkland responded with a twinkle in her green eyes, "Two drama queens are enough in one family." She ignored her son's and daughter's cries of protest as she settled herself at the dinner table, "Someone call the twins."
"DINNER!" Alastair and Alice bellowed with all of the strength of their stage voices, nearly deafening Peter. Their mother, expecting this, was just now pulling the earplugs out of her ears as they heard two thumps from upstairs.
"You realize that I meant for you to go get them," she said wearily, but without much frustration." Her two acting children just smirked at her.
"We know."
Rose and Oliver arrived at the kitchen table practically panting with exertion.
"You do realize it's not running away, don't you?" their mother asked in her amused voice, "My cooking's not THAT bad."
"Can't stay for long, the bar exam's coming up soon!" Rose exclaimed as she shoveled food into her mouth.
Oliver just nodded, reminding them that one of his doctor exams was also coming up.
Suddenly, the family was startled by a loud buzzing. At the same time, Alice and Alastair snatched their phones from their pockets, ignoring their mother's half-hearted admonishment about phones at the dinner table, to check the message that appeared on their screens.
It was all quiet for a few moments while they read the message before chaos erupted as cheers broke out.
"Callbacks!"
Suddenly, narrowed green eyes shot to the other.
"Who for?" they both asked in unison.
"Doctor Seward."
"Mina Murray."
The step-siblings both let out a sigh of relief in unison. Both were ready to act as professionals in the event of getting parts of the romantic leads, but it didn't mean that they WANTED it to happen.
"Break a leg."
"You too."
"What about ME!" Peter whined.
